Nicholas' father was the revered General Aleksandr Kerensky, who passed away in 2801. His mother was Katyusha Kerensky. Nicholas had a younger brother, Andery Kerensky, who was later killed on Eden during Operation Klondike in 2821 under unclear circumstances; some contemporaries felt Nicholas may have had a hand in his brother's death, either by recklessly putting him in danger or through outright plotting to kill him. Nicholas was married to "Jennifer Winson".

Due to his genetic legacy, Nicholas Kerensky has numerous descendants among Clan Wolf and Clan Wolf-in-Exile. His bloodname has never been Reaved. The Kerensky name and descendence from the Great Father are shared with a second Kerensky Bloodname derived from his brother Andery. Nicholas's most famous descendants are Natasha Kerensky and Ulric Kerensky.

Shortly after the founding of Clan Steel Viper, the first Khan of that Clan, Ellie Kinnison, hatched a mad plot to assassinate ilKhan Kerensky's wife, Jennifer Winson. Kinnison, known to be mentally unstable and fanatically obsessed with Kerensky, reasoned that once Jennifer was dead, a grieving Nicholas would have no choice but to turn to Kinnison for comfort and love.

Kerensky and Winson decided to take a vacation on Arcadia, but also intended to investigate accusations made against the Vipers, particularly Khan Kinnison's policies. When the ilKhan and his wife disembarked from their DropShip, Viper saKhanSteven Breen, who had discovered his Khan's insane plan, opened fire on Kinnison, who had come to greet the ilKhan. During the resulting confusion, only Breen and Winson saw Kinnison draw her own sidearm and aim it at Winson. Breen's next shot killed Kinnison.

For his heroism, Steven Breen was elected as the second Khan of Clan Steel Viper. On ilKhan Kerensky's orders, Ellie Kinnison's name was stricken from all Clan records, and her genetic legacy was destroyed.[5]

Nicholas was killed on October 7, 2834, during the Clan WidowmakerTrial of Absorption by Widowmaker Khan Cal Jorgensson in what was an apparent accident. Clan Widowmaker had called for a Trial of Refusal against their absorption by Clan Wolf, and during the fighting Cal Jorgensson wound up dueling Wolf Khan Jerome Winson. Winson was on the verge of winning when a Star of Widowmaker 'Mechs violated the Circle of Equals. As Nicholas Kerensky, piloting his Atlas II, stepped in, his cockpit was incinerated by a stray shot from Jorgensson's Highlander.
When his body was extracted from the cockpit, he was already dead.

The death of the ilKhan enraged the warriors of Clan Wolf, who proceeded to wipe out the remaining Widowmaker warriors and absorbed the rest of their Clan.

Nicholas Kerensky was known to pilot an Atlas II, and was piloting one during the Trial that resulted in his death. But in the battle of Barbados, during the Clan Wolverine annihilation, it appears he piloted a Highlander battlemech.

We will purge our old ideals and ethics; those belong to the corrupt stars of the Inner :Sphere, and will not serve as we begin anew. Now, while our minds are open and yearning for new :insight, we must remold them and fill them with the truth of our destiny. For we are destined :not only to be different from those we left behind, but also better. My father knew this, :and saved us from the holocaust of the Inner Sphere. I accept it as truth, and have returned to :lead you, the survivors of this most bitter trial.

"True warriors do not follow paths, they make them. It is not just their desire, it is their nature."

"...A magnificent beast, the smoke jaguar. It is ferocity unbound, tenacity without limit. Once it locks its powerful jaws around the throat of its prey, it never lets go. The greatest of warriors might be shamed by comparing himself to such fierce courage...

"My Clans might learn much from this beast. Like us, it came from Nature, but has been improved by human hands. And now the great cat born on Terra thrives on a world so many light-years away from the planet of its birth that the human mind shudders to contemplate it...as we must. As we will...

"The smoke jaguar fights like a true warrior. No deceit, no subterfuge - a single, brutal assault, both open and deadly. A powerful spring from above, a slash of its huge claws across its victim's throat, and its prey lies dead before it. So should all of us fight our enemies - openly, but with overwhelming force. Thus we may win true glory, by defeating the foe in honorable combat. Truly, this great cat is a finer warrior than any human being I have ever seen on the field of battle...!"

-From Birth of a New Society: The Collected Writings of Nicholas Kerensky, Strana Mechty Press, 3025[7]

”

“

"A truly fearsome beast, the great viper of Arcadia possesses strength and tenacity unmatched by any other predator on that world. It coils around its prey in a crushing embrace, then finishes its kill with a deadly poison. The warriors of the Clan I name Steel Viper show remarkable tenacity in battle and in their service to our great mission. May they continue to serve with unshakable faith, and may their opponents learn to fear the fangs of the Steel Vipers."

-From Birth of a New Society: The Collected Writings of Nicholas Kerensky, Strana Mechty Press, 3025[8]

”

“

"It seems inconceivable that everything we have accomplished can be threatened by the actions of individuals within our highest ranks. Khan Kinnison acted against everything the Clans represent and all we strive to achieve. ...It is just such aberrations that Clan society will prevent and control. Fortunately, the Steel Viper ranks also produced an individual capable of seeing and believing in the evil harbored in another's heart, and who acted selflessly to dispense proper justice to such a traitor. Count yourselves fortunate, Steel Vipers, that your Clan survives by virtue of a pure majority. ...I nominate Star Colonel Steven Breen as Khan of Clan Steel Viper. ...As your ilKhan, I claim the right to strike the name Kinnison forever from all records past and present. The tainted genes of that accursed line shall be cast out and destroyed as well."

-Origin of the Trial of Abjuration, after an assassination attempt on Nicholas Kerensky's wife, Jennifer Winson

"Our victories here have proved the rightness of the Way of the Clans; let it always be so among those of the True Faith. Let these few words always announce our coming and portend our victory."

-Speaking on Clan Liberation Day, May 26, 2822

”

Kerensky [ilKhan]: My honorable friend, the Khan from Clan Wolverine, continues to ignore the decisions of this body as verified by the recent Trial. I do not care that the cache is of the 331st Royal Division, her father's command. This body is agreed that the caches are a resource belonging to the Clans as a whole. In the old order, her paternal loyalty would be commended, but this not the old order. We are the Clans. We stand on our own merits, not those of our ancestors.

McEvedy: Do I? I know many of you in this chamber found our ilKhan's actions to secure control of the Pentagon population offensive. The Star League did not believe in torture and brutality. Those are the tools of power hungry madmen. Is that what you have become, Nicholas Kerensky? A power hungry madman?

[Raised voices from all parties]

Kerensky: SILENCE! McEvedy, Khan of Clan Wolverine, I, Nicholas Kerensky, ilKhan of the Clans, do call for a Trial of Grievance. By our law, you may...

McEvedy: Don't bother, Nicholas. I'll leave. In fact, we'll all leave. Clan Wolverine no longer recognizes the authority of the ilKhan or the Grand Council. From this point forward, we are an independent power. We decide our own fate, fairly and according to the morals and standards of the Star League.

Kerensky: You cannot do this.

McEvedy: I can and I have.

[McEvedy moves to leave.]

Kerensky: Arrest her!

[McEvedy draws her pistol; the Khans and security guards back off. A detachment of Wolverine troops arrives.]

McEvedy: If you want to face us, fine. But we will not hold back. Prepare to reap the whirlwind.

[McEvedy storms out]

Kerensky: My Khans, we face a serious decision...

-Excerpt from Grand Council security tape (uncensored version), October 8, 2823, as recorded in Clan Wolf records and reported by Phelan Kell.*

"The darkness is behind us, the light is ahead.Strive toward it, for it is the way."Said our Founder, Nicholas."Be ever vigilantand rely on your strengths:Faith, which preserves us;Knowledge, which gives us power;Understanding, which lets us know our foes;Courage, which lets us face the darkness without fear."